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From the Field: Rhett Wiseman, of, Washington Nationals

From the Field: Rhett Wiseman, of, Washington Nationals

Rhett Wiseman was drafted by the Nationals in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft out of Vanderbilt. He was part of a Vandy team that featured super prospects Dansby Swanson and Carson Fulmer. In 2016, in Low-A, he hit 255/.325/.410 over 478 at bats. But, he also had 104 K’s to 42 walks. Despite having a decent season, he feel off the Nationals Top 30 prospect list. He is on pace to put up these same…

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New Arrival: Mike Flanigan, sp, Baltimore Orioles

New Arrival: Mike Flanigan, sp, Baltimore Orioles

Mike Flanigan was drafted by Houston in the 15th round of the 1971 draft. He did not sign. Baltimore took him in the 7th round of the 1971 draft out of the University of Massachusetts, and this time he did sign. He would make the majors in 1975, though would not have a full season in the bigs until 1977. He would make his one All-Star team in 1978, going 19-15 with a 1.298 WHIP/3.33 FIP/104 ERA+…

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New Arrival: Jose Ramirez, ut, Cleveland Indians

New Arrival: Jose Ramirez, ut, Cleveland Indians

  2014 National Treasures   Jose Ramirez was signed as an international free agent by Indians in November 2009. Ramirez the prospect was viewed as a very good hitter, though not a ton of power. He was versatile, being able to play pretty much any position in the field, though profiled as a regular at second. He would rank the Indians #23 prospect in 2012, #9 in 2013. He moved…really fast through…

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New Arrival: Brook Jacoby, if, Cleveland Indians

New Arrival: Brook Jacoby, if, Cleveland Indians

Another player whose autograph I can never have enough of. I took a chance getting this card; the picture that was posted was not that great, so I was not sure if the autograph was faded and/or bled out a little…but I took a chance. Showed up today, and is as bold as the day it was signed. I am happy. Brook Jacoby was a solid, power hitting third baseman who was one of the bright spots on what…

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From the Field: University of New Mexico Baseball

From the Field: University of New Mexico Baseball

The Lobos came through Hawaii last year, and was really impressed the collection of bats they have on the roster. They are an offensive force in the Mountain West, and have 25-18-1 record. I missed a couple guys when UNM visited, and its been bugging me. I am lucky enough to know a guy who lives near the team, so he went down and snagged me a couple of my favorite players on the roster. #30 Carl…

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New Arrival: Jeff Manto, if, Every Team in Organized Baseball

New Arrival: Jeff Manto, if, Every Team in Organized Baseball

I have always been kind of infatuated with Jeff Manto. Not sure why. I think it has something to do with all the teams he played for him his career: California Angels (1985-1990) Cleveland Indians (1990–1991) Atlanta Braves (1992) Philadelphia Phillies (1993) Baltimore Orioles (1995) New York Mets (1995) Yomiuri Giants (1996) Boston Red Sox (1996) Seattle Mariners (1996) Cleveland Indians…

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New Arrival: Bob Nieman, lf, Baltimore Orioles

New Arrival: Bob Nieman, lf, Baltimore Orioles

Bob Nieman was born in 1927, hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio. He went to Kent State, and signed on with the Reds in 1948. He would be a two time MiLB batting champion before debuting in the majors in 1951. He was a very good hitter throughout his 12 seasons in the big leagues. He got on base (career .373 OBP), hit for power (125 career HR) and played a good left field. His best season was probably…

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New Arrivals: Cleveland Indians 2017 Spring Training Consignment

New Arrivals: Cleveland Indians 2017 Spring Training Consignment

Yandy Diaz. I was thrilled when he broke camp with the big league club. With a career minor league line of .307/.406/.411 he had earned a chance to play in the Majors. Despite getting sent back down to AAA, he showed a plus glove and made fantastic contact with the ball. The issue…and one that I hope he works on in AAA…is that he often made that contact straight into the ground. Fangraphs just…

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New Arrival: Connie Johnson, sp, Baltimore Orioles

New Arrival: Connie Johnson, sp, Baltimore Orioles

Connie Johnson was born in December 1922. His first season in baseball was 1940 with the Toledo/Indianapolis Crawfords of the Negro Leagues. He was 17 years old. Missed 1943-1945 due to serving in World War 2. In 1951 he joined the St. Hyacinthe Saints of the Canadian League. He would go 15-14, pitch 250 innings, allowing 225 hits and leading the league in K’s. The White Sox swooped in and signed…

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New Arrival: Jose Altuve, 2b, Houston Astros

New Arrival: Jose Altuve, 2b, Houston Astros

2017 Gypsy Queen Another new 2017 Gypsy Queen. Really nice card. Altuve is just an amazing player. He has been in the league for seven seasons, and already has quite the resume: Career line of .311/.354/.473 with 22 WAR. He has been adding more power every season, with 15 HR in 2015 and 24 in 2016. He has led the league in hits three times, average twice and stolen bases twice. He has been…

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From the Field: Patrick Weigel, rhp, Atlanta Braves

From the Field: Patrick Weigel, rhp, Atlanta Braves

Patrick Weigel has been drafted twice. He was a 2014 22nd round pick of the Brewers out of High School. He declined, went to the University of Houston, and was drafted in the 7th round of the 2015 draft by the Braves. Coming out of college he was a hard thrower with sketchy control. He had three pitches–high 90’s fastball, slider and curve. Though the curve was a work in progress. He was a bit of…

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Couple Allen & Ginter autographs I picked up from a collector on SCN.

Travis Lee was the 2nd overall pick of the 1996 draft by the Twins, but due to a loophole in the system (the Twins did not offer him a contract within 15 days), he became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks.

There was a lot of prospect buzz around Lee, which should be expected for a Golden Spikes winner and second overall pick.

That buzz was best illustrated by the popularity of his 1997 Bowman rookie card, which was the grail of prospect collectors for most of 1997. I paid $20 for my copy that season…which was a ton of money for 15 year old me.

Lee made the majors in 1998 and came out swinging. He hit 20 HR, had an OPS+ of 103, and ended the season #3 in ROY voting. But he slumped pretty hard for the next couple seasons, and in 2000 was traded to the Phillies as part of the Curt Schilling deal.

He would have a couple more league average seasons, but nothing all that exciting. He would retire in 2007.

Over nine seasons in the majors he would have a career WAR of 7.2.

Standard Batting Year Age Tm Lg G AB HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Awards 1998 23 ARI NL 146 562 22 72 8 1 67 123 .269 .346 .429 .775 103 RoY-3 1999 24 ARI NL 120 375 9 50 17 3 58 50 .237 .337 .363 .700 77 2000 25 TOT NL 128 404 9 54 8 1 65 79 .235 .342 .366 .709 78 2000 25 ARI NL 72 224 8 40 5 1 25 46 .232 .308 .397 .705 74 2000 25 PHI NL 56 180 1 14 3 0 40 33 .239 .381 .328 .709 82 2001 26 PHI NL 157 555 20 90 3 4 71 109 .258 .341 .434 .775 102 2002 27 PHI NL 153 536 13 70 5 3 54 104 .265 .331 .394 .725 96 2003 28 TBD AL 145 542 19 70 6 2 64 97 .275 .348 .459 .807 116 2004 29 NYY AL 7 19 0 2 0 0 1 3 .105 .150 .158 .308 -19 2005 30 TBD AL 129 404 12 49 7 4 35 66 .272 .331 .426 .757 102 2006 31 TBD AL 114 343 11 31 5 2 42 73 .224 .312 .364 .676 76

9 Yr 9 Yr 9 Yr 9 Yr 1099 3740 115 488 59 20 457 704 .256 .337 .408 .745 95 162 162 162 162 162 551 17 72 9 3 67 104 .256 .337 .408 .745 95

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/26/2017.

  Khalil Greene. I lived in Omaha, and in 2002 I went to the College World Series pretty much just to get his autograph. I got it. I met his dad. It was a cool day.

He was…kind of a big deal. Playing at Clemson, in 2002 he would hit .480 with 26 HR, and was named winner of the Dick Howser Trophy, the Rotary Smith Award, and the Golden Spikes Award. Collegiate Baseball named him National Player of the Year.

He was the 13th overall pick of the 2002 draft.

Greene blew though the minors and became the first player from the 2002 draft to make the majors. He scuffed a little, but with his plus defense and huge potential the Padres were thrilled with him.

He has a solid 2004, hitting .273/.349/.446 with 15 HR and came in #2 in ROY voting. Those numbers were pretty consistent for the next couple seasons. Not amazing, but very solid–especially for a National League shortstop.

He was traded to the Cardinals for the 2009 season, and that is when things went downhill. He struggled, and would eventually get put on the DH due to severe social anxiety disorder. He would never really get over it. He would make the majors again later that year, and in 2010 with the Rangers, but the anxiety disorder would continue to be a crippling issue that would eventually end his career.

Seven year career, 8.4 WAR.

I have a real soft spot for the dude. I hope he is doing OK.

Standard Batting Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Awards 2003 23 SDP NL 20 70 65 2 6 0 1 4 19 .215 .271 .400 .671 80 2004 24 SDP NL 139 554 484 15 65 4 2 53 94 .273 .349 .446 .795 114 RoY-2 2005 25 SDP NL 121 476 436 15 70 5 0 25 93 .250 .296 .431 .727 96 2006 26 SDP NL 121 460 412 15 55 5 1 39 87 .245 .320 .427 .747 97 2007 27 SDP NL 153 659 611 27 97 4 0 32 128 .254 .291 .468 .759 101 2008 28 SDP NL 105 423 389 10 35 5 1 22 100 .213 .260 .339 .599 66 2009 29 STL NL 77 193 170 6 24 2 1 15 35 .200 .272 .347 .619 64

7 Yr 7 Yr 7 Yr 7 Yr 736 2835 2567 90 352 25 6 190 556 .245 .302 .422 .723 94 162 162 162 162 162 624 565 20 77 6 1 42 122 .245 .302 .422 .723 94

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/26/2017.

New Arrival: Travis Lee and Khalil Greene Couple Allen & Ginter autographs I picked up from a collector on SCN. Travis Lee was the 2nd overall pick of the 1996 draft by the Twins, but due to a loophole in the system (the Twins did not offer him a contract within 15 days), he became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks.

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New Arrival: Chris Burke, if, Houston Astros

New Arrival: Chris Burke, if, Houston Astros

/ Chris Burke was drafted by the Houston Astros out of the University of Tennessee 10th overall in the 2001 draft. He was a great college player, holding six single season hitting records and eight career hitting records. From 2001-2004 he was ranked one of Houston’s Top 5 prospects, and was the #1 after the 2004 season. He was compared to both Craig Biggio and Mark Loretta. You would think…

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Autograph (mid) Week in Review: Spring Training Consignments and Gypsy Queen

Autograph (mid) Week in Review: Spring Training Consignments and Gypsy Queen

2017 Gypsy Queen George Springer flies under the radar playing in Houston. He strikes out a lot, but he also has some of the best raw power in the game. He is starting the season off a little slow, though he does lead the league with seven home runs. 2017 Topps I have liked Luke Gregerson since he played with that wrecking crew of a 2014 A’s team. He walked after the 2014 season as a free agent,…

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New Arrival: Carlos Correa, ss, Houston Astros

New Arrival: Carlos Correa, ss, Houston Astros

2017 Gypsy Queen When I was growing up we had the shortstop threesome of Nomar/Jeter/Garciaparra. They were good. Now? We have Lindor/Correa/Seager, which I think has the potential to be as good, if not better, than those mid-90’s juggernauts. I have been a fan of Correa since he was in the low minors–there is something about a shortstop with a bat that can his 30 home runs a year that is very…

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From the Field: Dylan File, sp, Dixie State Baseball

From the Field: Dylan File, sp, Dixie State Baseball

There are not many things I look forward to more every season then when Azusa or Dixie State come to play Hawaii Pacific. These two teams are always at the top of the Pacific West Conference, and are normally filled with intriguing players who have the potential to get taken in the draft. For the 2017 season, Dixie State (pre season #9 team in the country, currently #13) was the team that made…

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New Arrival: Derek Fisher, of, Houston Astros

New Arrival: Derek Fisher, of, Houston Astros

2014 Leaf Trinity Derek Fisher is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the minors. Fisher was drafted in 2011 (6th round) out of High School by the Rangers, but didn’t sign and decided to go to the University of Virginia. In 2014 Houston drafted again, this time in the 1st round. They signed him. Since then he has ranked the Astro’s #13, #10 and #9 prospect. He has an intriguing mix of…